Apr 8, 2016

Six months after the arrival of triplets Finnegan, Oliver and Thomas III upended the lives of parents Kristen and Thomas Hewitt Jr., the family of five is thriving.

: From left, Finn, Trip and Ollie, secured in their car seats, are read for a trip to the mall. It was only the second time Kristen had been to the mall with the children since they were born six months ago. Kristen’s mom, Kathy Stantz, will sit in the third row in back to keep an eye on the boys while Kristen drives. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt and her mother, Kathy Stantz, left, take the triplets on a shopping trip to Towsontown Center. Strangers frequently stop them to comment on the triplets. It was only the second time Kristen had been to the mall with the children since they were born six months ago. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Jim Stantz gives the boys airplane rides, as Kathy Stantz and Kristen Hewitt watch. He is holding Finn, who especially likes playing Superman with his Grandpop. The Hewitt triplets are thriving at six months, and their caregivers, parents Kristen and Thomas Hewitt Jr., and grandparents Kathy and Jim Stantz, are also holding up well. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Trip has found his thumb, which means less reliance on a pacifier and more peace for the caregivers. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt, center, and her parents, Kathy and Jim Stantz, settle the triplets for a nap in their bedroom. Ollie is at left, Finn is in front, and Trip is at right. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: The triplets, from left, Trip, Finn and Ollie, recently awake from their morning naps, are ready for their next meal. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt carefully props each bottle at an angle on a rolled blanket so that the triplets, from left, Finn, Trip and Ollie, can feed themselves simultaneously under her watchful eye. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: From left, Trip, Finn and Ollie, sometimes share one crib when they are not sleeping, and they have begun to reach out, touch each other, and sometimes hold hands. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen gazes at Trip, in foreground, as he and his brothers, Finn, left, and Ollie, in back, settle down for their naps after their midday feeding. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Ollie, the first to awaken from his early afternoon nap, is carried downstairs by Kristen Hewitt for a bottle. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt comforts Trip who seems to be crying from early teething symptoms. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Trip’s teething discomfort is allayed when Kristen Hewitt gives him a cold wet cloth, chilled from the refrigerator, to suck on. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: As Trip, right, settles down after his teething discomfort, Kristen turns her attention to Finn, which ends her attempt to eat a yogurt for lunch. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Once all three boys are settled with their propped bottles, Kristen Hewitt can finish her yogurt lunch shortly after 2 p.m. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: It’s Trip’s turn to play in the activity seat. The Hewitts have only one of these seats for the triplets, because of space limitations in their Hampden home. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt tidies up in the kitchen while holding Finn, and her mother holds sleepy Ollie as they prepare for a trip to the mall. It was only the second time Kristen has attempted to visit Towsontown Center with the children since they were born six months ago. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt hauls two strollers, one double and one single, plus other items to be returned at the mall, to her car. She and her mother, Kathy Stantz are about to take the triplets to Towsontown Center. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: The family dog, Jersey, waits with the triplets, who are buckled into their car seats in preparation for the boys’ expedition to Towsontown Center. Their grandmother, Kathy Stantz, made their car seat blankets from a vintage family blanket. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kristen Hewitt and her mother, Kathy Stantz, embark on a shopping trip to Towsontown Center. Usually husband Thomas carries two of the boys, but today Kristen is carrying Finn in front, and Trip in back, while her mother carries Ollie, as they make their way along the backyard path to the car. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Kathy Stantz, left, shows her daughter Kristen Hewitt an outfit as they look for bargains at a children’s clothing store at Towsontown Center. Kathy has Ollie in the stroller at left, and Kristen has the double stroller with Trip, left, and Finn, right. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: Time for a bottle feeding at Towsontown Center. Trip waits patiently for his turn, as Kristen Hewitt feeds Finn, center, and her mother Kathy Stantz feeds Ollie. The boys responded to all the stimulation at the mall. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

: The triplets, from left, Trip, Finn and Ollie, recently awake from their naps, appear a little anxious as they start to whimper for their bottles. The Hewitt triplets are thriving at six months, and their caregivers, parents Kristen and Thomas Hewitt Jr., and grandparents Kathy and Jim Stantz, are also holding up well. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

Triplets are rare and identical triplets rarer still. Kristen’s parents, Jim and Kathy Stantz, relocated from Ohio to help when the boys were born on October 6. Trip, the largest at birth, is now a solid 16.8 pounds. Finn, a mere 3.06 pounds at birth, has caught up to Ollie. They both weigh 15.8 pounds.

The daunting routine at their Hampden rowhouse, with six feedings a day, has eased up slightly now that the triplets sleep for nine to ten hours at night. The squirming, smiling, drooling, chubby babies can roll over from back to belly. The boys giggle, reach out for each other and interact more with adults.

Thomas recently started a new job, as Director of Service Development for the Maryland Transportation Authority. His father-in-law is also working fulltime, so Kristen relies more on her mother for weekday help. A recent expedition by the two women to Towson Town Center was planned like a military campaign. The Hewitts look forward to going to the park and not being completely cooped up inside with the triplets. Kristen remarked, “It will definitely be nice to get out of the house!”